AJ Tracey
: Album Review
This review originally appeared in CLASH Magazine
When AJ Tracey released his ‘Secure The Bag’ EP back in 2017, he delivered a project shaped by his bold bars, cheeky punchlines and metaphors, and authentic grime flow, married with trap and hip-hop influenced instrumentals that moved his sound in a new direction. It proved to be a hit – the EP independently reached number 13 in the UK Album Charts – and begged two questions from fans and critics alike: What would an AJ Tracey album sound like and when can we get it? Well it’s here, and on his self-titled debut LP, the Ladbroke Grove wordsmith is at the peak of his powers.
There’s always an element of pressure when artists name their projects after themselves, especially when it’s their first album, but you wouldn’t be able to tell in this case, as the West London native delivers a 15-track effort that truly lives up to his desire to be considered as a genre-less artist. Traversing a multitude of different sounds, – including trap (‘Necklace ft Jay Critch’), garage (‘Ladbroke Grove’), grime (‘Horror Flick’), and even country (‘Country Star’) – it’s a testament to him as an artist that he’s managed to curate an album that not only highlights his versatility, but does so without compromising what he’s built sonically thus far or overstretching his range. His gold-certified, Top 20, summer smash ‘Butterflies ft Not3s’ also appears on the album, marking his unique take on dancehall – yet another genre he can add to his ever-growing collection.
One artistic weapon in his arsenal that makes an appearance throughout the album is his surprisingly adept singing ability. He’s always been known for his memorable hooks but in a number of tracks he either sings or treads the line between rapping and singing within his verses, adding another dynamic element to proceedings. Content-wise he talks about making his mum proud on tracks like ‘Prada Me’, as well as his achievements thus far, such as the plaques on his wall (‘Doing It’) and making it onto the Forbes 30 Under 30 list (‘Double C’s’).
What shines through across the entirety of the album is how throughout everything he has achieved so far in his career, at his core AJ Tracey is still just AJ From The Lane – a young black male from Ladbroke Grove making a name for himself on a global scale, doing things that had previously seemed outside of his reach and taking inspiration from that journey. With his debut album he firmly establishes himself as one of the leading lights in UK Rap (if there were any doubts), and in a year where some of the heavyweights of the scene are also set to drop albums, it shouldn’t come as a surprise to see this project in and amongst the best of them by the end of 2019. Who knows, he may even need to find a new wall to hold his plaques on too.